![]() “Brazil is the country that kills most LGBT people – that’s without talking about the numbers of people committing suicide from the LGBT community,” Santana says. Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, is a self-declared homophobe. Outside women’s football, that prejudice is as strong as ever. ‘Being LGBT in Brazil is an act of courage’ Marta is an ‘inspiration’ for many within Brazil’s LGBT community (Photo: Getty Images) However, we know that prejudice still exists”. Hailing from Brazil, Marta Vieira da Silvas absolute dominance of the sport has earned her four consecutive FIFA Womens World Player of the Year awards. Gadu says, owing to pioneers like Marta, being LGBTQ+ in women’s football “is not as scary as it once was, a lot of clubs have embraced the cause. Marta’s success has a social impact as she is an inspiration for girls who come from a precarious social situation.”Īs an openly gay woman, Marta’s impact is two-fold. Playing football is an act of resistance for women. In Brazil football is a very machista environment. “All women who play football here are symbols of this fight, in fact. She was a symbol of this fight before it became a mainstream topic. The footballer is the proud holder of most Brazilian International Football goals with 108 goals in the male and female category. She plays for Orlando Pride in the National Women’s Soccer League. ![]() Marta is a UN ambassador for women and girls in sport, and Gadu says that, for her, Marta’s social work is just as important as her skill on the pitch: “I believe that for a lot of women who live in the world of football and have her as an inspiration, end up encouraging us to take a position, to fight for what we desire and to change the way society thinks.”Īccording to Gabi Kivitz, who co-wrote the song “Jogadeira”, which became the anthem of Brazil’s 2019 World Cup campaign: “Marta transcends football. Marta Vieira da Silva (popular as Marta) is a Brazilian Football player positioned as forward in the team. Gadu, a Bahia player and the Brazilian second division’s top scorer this season, who grew up in the south-eastern state of Sao Paulo, says: “For all of her achievements as a woman, she has become an inspiration and source of motivation for other women and girls.” Because she was north-eastern, because she was a woman and because she was the best in the world for a long while.” Symbol of female empowerment Marta in action during the Rio Olympics, where Brazil narrowly missed out on bronze (Photo: Getty Images)įor many women across the country, the feeling towards Marta is the same. “Seeing an athlete with the immense influence she had was always a source of great pride. “I always played football and was the only girl among the boys,” she says. For Santana, Marta is a shining example of what women like her can achieve.
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